Author's Note: This is my first fic so please give feedback. This is from the pov of an OC so if you don't like that, then don't read.

Full Summary: Aria knew she was different from the moment she was born. From the way energy seemed to spark at her fingers, to the way dresses felt wrong. From the way her bullies were inexplicably injured, to the way she hated being called a girl. From the way she was slow to empathy, to the way she seemed to always know when someone was upset, regardless of her lack of social intelligence. There were many things that made her different, but, in her opinion, none of that mattered as much as being understood by others-which is hard when you have undiagnosed autism. She tried her hardest to be like the other children, she tried so hard that she suppressed all the other things that made her different. Like how the name 'Aria' made her uncomfortable, and how she could feel the energy in the air around her. But she couldn't suppress them forever. Her strenuous control of herself broke one day when her younger brother was attacked for being autistic.

The Beginning

"Faster, Shawn!" I yell as we tear through the alleyway. I run faster even though I know that there's a dead end coming up. I squeeze Shawn's hand as my mind races for a way out of this.

"We got them now!" Just as we reach the end of the alleyway, his voice comes from behind me, closer than I'm comfortable with. I turn to look at him, not bothering to acknowledge his lackeys.

"What do you want this time, Jackson?" I sneer to hide my fear as I step in front Shawn, "Upset we beat you in class, again?"

"Listen here, cunt." Jackson positively snarls at us while moving closer. "We're gonna teach you two a lesson about respecting your betters."

"Oh?" I pretend to look around, "Well? Where are they?"

"Right here, freak." Jackson spits in my face. I stand my ground even though I'm terrified of the older boy.

"Prove it then," I say nonchalantly, "If you're so much better than us freaks, then show it instead of bullying us like the cowards you are."

"You're gonna regret that," He punches me in the stomach as he says it. I double over in pain before standing back up and spitting at him. It hits him square in the chest, angering him further. "Get em!" I stand my ground in front of Shawn as their punches come raining down on me. After a few seconds, I can't stay standing; they rush behind me to get to Shawn. I watch as they knock Shawn to the ground. I hear Shawn's cries of pain as they kick him while he's down.

"No!" I shout as I force myself to stand up. Jackson pushes me, kicking me in the ribs once I'm down. "Don't hurt him, you shitbag!"

"Oh, looks like the freak has some balls." Jackson's lackeys laugh at his dumb remark, "Maybe it actually does, and that's why it doesn't wear skirts like the rest of the girls." He kicks me again while he laughs at himself. I groan as I try to stand again. It's no use, He just kicks me down again. I'm starting to feel dizzy from how many times I've hit my head on the ground. It would be so easy to just lie down and sleep for a while.

"Aria! Help," My brother's whimpers echo through my head. Ugh, I have to… get up… c'mon. I slowly push myself up to Jackson's laughter.

"Looks like the freak wants some more." Jackson turns from my brother's prone form to focus on me. That's right jerkwad, look at me, not him. He watches me get up, maybe he just wants the satisfaction of knocking me down again.

"What I want? I want you to get away from my brother." I gasp through the pain.

"Guess you'll just have to stop me, won't you?" Jackson laughs before giving my brother another kick.

"I said," I growl, standing up to my full height of four foot nine – that's tall for a ten-year-old, okay?! - "Get away from him. Or else."

"Or else what, freak?!" Jackson towers over me, snarling. I can feel the energy in the air around us; it's so heavy, but he doesn't seem to notice. "What are you gonna do about it?" He questions me as his lackeys resume kicking Shawn.

"Hey!" I yell, the energy around me growing stronger. "Get away from him!" I go past Jackson to push them away from him. They move towards me, but Jackson stops them.

"No, let's see what the freak can do." Jackson comes closer, "Go ahead, I'll give you a free hit" I take a swing at him, but he smoothly dodges it. "That's what I thought, loser. Can't even hit me when I give it a free shot," He laughs to his friends. The energy around me feels ready to snap. What would happen if I let it? "Let's get back to the other freak, this one is obviously out of it." No!

"Wait, no," Shawn whimpers as they surround him once again, "Aria, please." His cry as Jackson delivers a kick to the head breaks something inside of me.

"NO!" I scream, the energy breaking past the boundary I carefully kept up this whole time. "You. Will. NOT. Hurt. Him!" Jackson and his crew fly backwards. "You won't touch him EVER again!" They get lifted up and pressed against the wall. "Do you understand?!" Jackson looks like he's about to pee his pants, but I don't care. "I said. Do. You. Understand?!"

"Y- yes." He cries, "Please, just let- just let us down!" I push them further against the wall and they cry out in pain. "Please!" I ignore their pleas, just like they ignored my brother's.

"Aria, please," Shawn tugs on my sleeve, "Can we just go home now?" He sounds so sad; I can't help but do whatever he wants. I slowly let go of my hold on the energy and the older boys sink to the ground.

"Are you okay?" I ask softly.

"Okay enough to go home now." He says insistently.

"Okay, let's go." I ignore the pain in my ribs and head to grab his hand. I sidestep Jackson and his friends. "Dad will know what to do about our injuries." With that, Shawn and I start the long walk home.